Fuel-feeding machine



Nov. 30, 1926. 1,668,642

S. WITTEN FUEL FEEDING MACHINE Filed July 15, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 6QL/ILPE W/TTEN 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 S. WITTEN Filed July 15,

Nov. 30 1926.

Nov. 30; 1926.

S. WITTEN FUEL FEEDING MACHINE 4 Shets-Sheet 3 Filed July 15, 1925 371 0 144 500 5690 05 W/ TTEN Nov. 30 1926.

. 1,608,642 S. WITTEN v FUEL FEEDING MACHINE Filed July 15, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 55 5 20/95 W/TTAW Patented Nov. 30, 1926.

UNITED STATES SQUIRE WITTEN, 0F LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

FUEL-FEEDING MAGHIN E.

Application filed July 15, 1925.

This invention relates to fuel feeding machines, and more particularly to means for feeding coal or other solid fuel from overhead bunkers to hoppers arranged in front of the boilers.

An object of the invention is to provide a device in which coal spouts are pivotally mounted at their upper ends and adapted to receive the coal from overhead bunkers. The lower ends of the spouts are attached to a reciprocating member which moves the mouth of the spout over the hopper to evenly distribute the coal, thus eliminating the necessity of shifting the position of the spout by hand.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a novel form of mechanism for controlling the movement of the reciprocating member and the spout.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of improved automatic reversing mechanism whereby the device will travel a predetermined distance in one di-' rection and. the-n return over its original path to the starting point.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown one embodiment of the invention. In this showing:

Figure 1 is a front elevation,

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view substantially on line 22 of Figurel showing the operating mechanism in plan,

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the operating mechanism on an enlarged scale.

. Figure 4 is an end elevation,

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view on line 5-5 of Figure 3, and,

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a re- 'versing switch and the operating means therefor.

Referring to the drawings. the reference numeral 1 designates the coal spouts which are pivotally mounted at their upper ends (not shown) and are adapted to receive coal from an overhead bunker (not shown). These spouts are adapted to deliver coal into a hopper 2 arranged in front of the boilers in theusual manner, the coal in the hopper being indicated by the reference numeral 8. p

The operating mechanism forming the subject matter of the present invention consists of a cable 4 which is adapted to pass over a guide pulley 5 at one end and over a drive pulley 6 at the opposite end. The

as; is mounted a shaft 7 Serial No. 43,882.

secured thereto by means of a key 8. Means are provided for oscillating the shaft and the pulley to cause the cable to reciprocate and thus swing each of the spouts across the hopper from a point adjacent one end to a point adjacent the center. As shown, the cable is secured to the spouts, as indicated at 9, to cause the spouts to move with the cable.

The operating mechanism is supported on a pair of angle irons 10 secured to any suitable support and a plate 11 is arranged on these angle irons adjacent one end. An electric motor 12 is supported on this plate and connected to a suitable source of current by means of lead wires 13. A supporting plate 14 is also mounted on the angle irons and a reversing switch 15 is mounted thereon. This switch is connected to the motor by lead wires 16 to revolve the motor in either direction according to the position of the switch. As shown, the .motor is provided with a shaft 17 carrying a pinion 18 and this pinion meshes with a gear 19 carried by a shaft 20 to drive the whole shaft at a reduced speed. As shown, the shaft 20 is mounted in suitable bearings'21 carried by the plate 14. A worm gear 22 is arranged thereon and meshes with a worm wheel 23 mounted on the vertical shaft 7. As shown, the worm gear is secured to the shaft by means of a key 24. Through the provision of the gear 19 and pinion 18 and the worm gearing 22, 23 it will be apparent that a considerable reduction in speed takes place between the motor and the shaft 8 to drive the pulley 6 at a low rate of speed and move the cable 4 at the same rate of speed as the pulley.

In order to reverse the motor after the cable has traveled a predetermined distance in one direction, I provide an arm 25 extending from the reversing switch and having a crank 26 at its outer end. This crank is received in a slot or fork 27 in the.

having slate ain Qatar ill) which slots are large enough to permit passage of the cable and which will be engaged by the balls when the balls are in the position shown in Figure 6 of the drawings, to swing the entire mechanism through an arc with the shaft 31 as the center. As shown, a cross arm 34 extends parallel to the arms 32 at the top and bottom and these cross arms are connected by vertical arms 35 forming a skeleton frame.

Means are provided for retarding the movement of the reversing mechanism whereby the reversing switch will be disconnected from the source of current for an appreciable length of time before closing the circuit through the motor in the opposite direction which will permit the motor to come to a state of rest. As shown, a link 36 is connected to each side of the swinging frame and the end of this link is connected to a check lever 37. The check lever is connected to a dash pot mechanism 38 which is of ordinary construction and a detail description of which is therefore omitted. The check lever may also be connected to a coil spring 39 which is placed under tension when the swinging frame is moved and thus assists the dash pot mechanism in performing its function.

At a distance from the swinging frame, I provide pivoted levers 40 on each side which are adapted to be engaged by the balls 29 and 30. Suitable means (not shown) are provided to normally retain these levers in operative position. These levers are forked at their outer ends and when engaged by the balls are swung from their normal position shown in Figure 2 of the drawings av sufficient distance to permit the ball to pass. A cable 41 connects each of these levers to the check lever 37 to return the dash pot mechanism to its original position.

Means are provided for locking the dash pot mechanism in the position shown at the to 3 in Figure 3 of the drawings. As shown, a locking bolt 42 is mounted in a suitable bracket 43 and is normally projected by means of a spring 44. This bolt is provided with a cam surface 45 over which the check lever rides. The lower end of the bolt is provided with a slot adapted to receive one arm of a pivoted bell crank lever 46 and this bell crank lever is connected to the arm 32 by a cable 47 V In operation, with the parts in the position shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, the cable has just completed its movementtoward the right and the ball 30 has swung the shaft 31 and the arm 28 in a counter clockwise direction to reverse the switch 15 through thearm and crank 26. The shaft 7 and pulley 5 are then revolved in a clockwise direction to move the parts in the opposite direction and the ball is moved to the left and the ball 29 to the right. As the ball 30 moves to the left, it passes through the forked end of the pivoted lever 40, swing ng it on its pivot and the cable 4i exerts a pull on the check lever 37 to return the dash pot mechanism to its original position. The dash pot mechanism is returned to its position before the ball leaves the forked end of lever 40. After the ball leaves the forked end of lever 40., the lever returns to the operative position shown in Figure 2 of the drawings. As the lever 37 returns to its original position, as shown by the check lever at the top in Figure 2 of the drawings, it rides over the cam surface on the upper end of the locking bolt 42, depressing the bolt against the tension of the spring As soon as the check lever passes over the bolt, the bolt is again projected by the spring to lock it in this position. At the same time, the ball 29 moves toward the operating mechanism and when it reaches the position shown in Figure 6 of the drawings, it begins to swing the frame and oscillate the shaft 31 in a clockwise direction. The latch bolt 42 is immediately released by the pull exerted through the cable 47 which swings the bell crank lever on its pivot and depresses the bolt against the tension of the spring. As the frame moves to its natural position, the movement is retarded by the dash pot mechanism and the spring 39 so that the switch is disconnected for a considerable period and the motor permitted to coast and come to a state of rest before it is connected to revolve in the opposite direction.

This movement of the cable in a reciprocating path reciprocates the mouth of the spout over the hopper and thus distributes the fuel evenly throughout the length of the hopper. The length of stroke employed and the number of spouts employed in connection with a hopper will depend upon structural details and may be varied to suit individual conditions. The mechanism thus provides means for distributing the coal evenly throughout the hopper and eliminates the hand labor heretofore necessary in moving the mouth of the spout from one position to another to obtain a distribution of the coal.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described is to be takenas a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be reso ted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim: I

1. In a device of the character described,

said shaft, a cable arranged on said pulley,

a pivoted frame arranged in the path of said cable and oppositely extended arms carried by said frame and adapted to receive parallel portions of said cable, and members carried by said cable and adapted to engage said arms to swing said frame.

2. A device constructed in accordance with claim 1 wherein dash pot mechanism is connected to said frame to retard the movement of said frame and said switch.

3. In a device of the character described, a reversible motor, a reversing switch connected to said motor, a shaft operatively connected to said motor, a pulley arranged on said shaft, a cable arranged on said pulley, a swinging frame arranged in the path of said cable and adapted to actuate said switch, members carried by said cable and adapted to engage said frame, dash pot mechanism connected to said frame to retard its move- 4. A device constructed in accordance with claim 3 wherein means are provided for locking said dash pot mechanism in its original position.

5. A device constructed in accordance with claim 8 wherein the means for returning said dash pot mechanism to its original position comprises a pivoted lever arranged in the path of said cable carried members and a flexible connection between said pivoted lever and said dash pot mechanism.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

SQUIRE WITTEN. 

